Date

7-21-2026

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education in Curriculum & Instruction (EdD)

Chair

Lisa C. Stone

Keywords

Bandura, social-emotional development, elementary, mental health

Disciplines

Education | Special Education and Teaching

Abstract

The purpose of this collective case study was to discover the influence that COVID-19 has had on teaching and learning social-emotional skills in grades K through 2 in a local public school in a central metropolitan area in the northeastern United States. During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools worldwide were forced to shut down, providing online instruction using tablets and other media devices. Students and teachers suddenly became limited in how they socialized with each other. COVID-19 changed how teachers use social-emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom. The study included 10 participants. This study’s purpose was to answer the central research question: How are educators using or reintroducing social and emotional learning in their classrooms after an extended period of teaching remotely and social distancing with students in kindergarten to 2nd grade? Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory guided a collective case study by asking educators how they have used or reintroduced social and emotional learning in their classrooms after teaching remotely and social distancing. Interviews, observations, and educators’ lesson plans were used to investigate teachers' training and use of SEL in the classrooms in a post-society. Teachers from kindergarten to 2nd grade participated. Data were grouped into themes to identify patterns within teachers’ instruction and teachers’ perceptions of students’ behaviors. The findings were that educators are using SEL in their classrooms and feel supported in their school when it comes to using SEL. Educators had different levels of experience using SEL, some of it being a lack of training and or time, and materials. These factors influenced the implementation of SEL in the classrooms. Lastly, educators shared how SEL has affected their student-teacher relationships in positive ways.

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